Why don't landlords accept pets in Ireland?

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117848249#Comment_117848249

The law is changing so landlords can't charge extra for deposits. So if the law is 2 months max deposit then the vast majority of landlords will be at the limit and then getting an extra €1k off you could end up costing them a lot more when the RTB rules it illegal. There's also nothing stopping you leaving the rental 3 months early after your pet has destroyed the property, leaving the landlord out of pocket and with a damaged property

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117847306#Comment_117847306

They do but are smart enough not to say they do.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117846957#Comment_117846957

That proves that you care for your pet and nothing else.

As for your smokers point. I'm sure if a landlord sees a potential tenant with yellow fingers, or even has a him of smoke off them, and don't say that they smoke they won't be getting the property.

ztoical

The issue isn't that people have pets at the end of the day there is a shortage of rentals so LL have choices and they are going to go with the one they feel has the lowest risk and they have the most trust with as they are handing over a big asset to pretty much a stranger. Yes people can lie about a host of things including smoking but that is the risk in renting and why LL tend to lists things like no pets, no children, professionals only etc etc and don't usually rent based on first come first served.

I rented with my cat for years and never had issues but I always made sure to meet with the LL/Agent in person and would ask about my specific pet - if you just ask in general about pets and their mind is going to jump to someone with a giant dog or 10 cats. I always said I have 'a middle aged house cat' rather then just 'a cat' and that gives a nice image of a gentle cat that isn't young and hyper ripping things or an older cat peeing everywhere. It's all about building trust and comfort for the LL so they don't worry about handing you the keys to their property.

mrslancaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117848500#Comment_117848500

For a non-smoker its easy to smell smoke as soon as you enter a property, it makes everything stink. It would be obvious during inspection and a breach of the agreement if the property was let as non-smoking & it was in the contract.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117848562#Comment_117848562

I said:

While I understand the reservations of some landlords, the net result of this approach is that there is a generation of people who will never have access to pets, as many people are forced to remain in the rental sector, including many single people, many families, many people with disabilities in community settings.

That's not nice or reasonable.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117848698#Comment_117848698

It's not a hobby, and it has little to do with privilege. For many, it is a way of life, and an important aspect of their physical and mental health. I'd broadly agree that most dogs should be locked in apartments, or houses for 8 hours a day, but that doesn't apply for lots of people, and isn't a good reason for the restrictions on pets for many renters.

lawred2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117849239#Comment_117849239

it is 100% is a privilege. A way of life for them it may be but that's where it ends. A landlord (or anyone for that matter) should not be expected to indulge or accommodate another person's hobby.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117849239#Comment_117849239

Huh?

It is a life choice to want to own a pet, it is not a right, nor a necessity (guide dogs aside). There are lots of things I would like to have, or like to do, that I can’t, that is not an unreasonable situation.

Personally, I care a lot more about the damage to my property than I do about the well-being of a pet locked inside most of the day. Yourself and the op can try and rationalise and moralise about the fairness of that, but my house, my rules.

And don’t kid yourself and try’n kid us, if your pet did thousands of euro worth of damage, you would not happily hand over that money to the LL.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117848298#Comment_117848298

It’s also not a private landlords responsibility to solve

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117849239#Comment_117849239

Get a bird or a goldfish: no landlord will have a problem with those.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117848649#Comment_117848649

Christ, you've some bee in your bonnet with landlords.

Why do you bother being a tenant? You seem to want to tell landlords exactly what they can and can't do with their own property, maybe it's not for you.

Alfred123

What about parrots that swear real bad ?

JimmyVik

Every pet owner thinks their pet doesnt smell.

They also think their pet wont damage furniture.

Pets do smell and they do damage furniture. Its just a fact of life.

And the landlord just doesnt want to be arguing with you about deposits.

He would much rather just everything be grand and hand you back your deposit.

He isnt going add anything into the mix that might cause complications if he has other potential tenants with less complications. Like a pet or a smoker.

Smokers smell too, especially to non smokers.

Xander10

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117850484#Comment_117850484

A definite no no.

I believe on average they live to about 80 and will probably end up with some form of squatters rights.

GerardKeating

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117847531#Comment_117847531

Fairly easy to rent out a 1/2 bed appartment with a no kid rule, but if you have a 3/5 bed house, a no kid rule removes a lot of potential tennants.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117849603#Comment_117849603

Let them eat cake! Classy response. Have you ever taken a goldfish for a walk?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117849612#Comment_117849612

This might be a surprise but most people don't choose to be a tenant. It just happens to be the only option.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117853653#Comment_117853653

No ones ever been forced to buy a pet. So if your only option is renting then don't buy a pet.

Ray Palmer

I let people have pets and actual enjoy meeting them. Rented houses next door also have dogs

Potis 2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117846134#Comment_117846134

While I agree to a certain extent, I actually believe kids cause more damage to properties than pets a lot of the time! 🤣

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117853653#Comment_117853653

That’s the governments fault though, not the private landlords. You should blame FF/FG for the fact that you can’t have a dog in your home

ted1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117846164#Comment_117846164

its illegal to let unfurnished in Ireland...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117854434#Comment_117854434

Not quite true. You have to provide white goods - oven, fridge, freezer. Nothing else. That's generally the definition of 'unfurnished' in a rental context both in Ireland the UK.

Much more common in the UK, and generally toward the higher end of the market. I wish there were more unfurnished options in Ireland - just doesn't seem to be much of a thing. As renters get older though, demand will probably increase,

Alfred123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117852750#Comment_117852750

Well, the swearing parrot would always be in a cage. Owned by a very respectable couple. You'd only have to hear it once a month when you came to collect the rent (cash)

"Yer fckuing man again. Here to fckuing rob us. Why don't you bring a feckin gun. Would be more fcuking dignified, you cnut.

1500 quid a month ! Place isnt worth one-fifty.

How do you fecking live with yourself, you fckuing greaseball !"

But they always pay on time. Finally ye agree that you don't have to come into the apartment - they'll slide the rent out under the door for you

But still you can hear the parrot thru the door

" yer fckuing man again .."

Would that be ok ?

DubCount

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117853990#Comment_117853990

Just out of interest, is there any problem in the world not caused by FF/FG? Did they bring us Covid as well?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117854897#Comment_117854897

Okay, I should have just said "the government", as it is the government who have their hands on the levers here. Have let an environment develop in which people like the OP cant buy a house. My point was that it is their fault, not private landlords. Just so happens to have been FF and FG in recent years. It is not a reflection of the way that I vote

Caranica

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117855145#Comment_117855145

Have you read the OP's many many other threads? Buying a house isn't on their radar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117855187#Comment_117855187

No, I haven’t, I don’t know anything about the OP and don’t pay these things that much attention. I just saw a post where they said, when challenged, that they couldn’t buy a house. And, by extension, and were blaming landlords for their inability to have a pet

Caranica

Without context you can see lots of things but not the full story.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117855238#Comment_117855238

I’m not that into boards that i look at peoples profiles and posting history

Caranica

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117855282#Comment_117855282

Any regular on this forum wouldn't need to look. The OP has a lot of questions, and a lot of obstacles to renting a property, not to mind buying one.

The bottom line is that the landlord can decide who or what they accept. Many won't accept pets for a myriad of reasons. In the current rental market they would be putting themselves at even more of a disadvantage if on top of everything else they needed somewhere that accepts pets.

get a goldfish.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117854728#Comment_117854728

This isn't the humour forum. Drop it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117855300#Comment_117855300

I’ll leave it to the regulars then so

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117853990#Comment_117853990

I'm not actually blaming landlords, and I understand that landlords have legitimate concerns.

I don't have a solution either - maybe some kind of insurance scheme or increased deposit or something.

It's just awful that a generation is blocked from the basic measure of having a pet that you can interact with, not good for mental or physical health..

The 'my house my rules' isn't a good reason. It is illegal for landlords to discriminate based on race or gender or disability. The same could be done in relation to pets, if there was a bit of momentum for this change.

FileNotFound

Not a LL but would fully understand the miriad of reasons why they would not want a dog etc in their property.

A reality that pet owners must acknowledge when they take ownership of said pet.

Alfred123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117855322#Comment_117855322

Got it.

Thanks

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117855696#Comment_117855696

You can't relate no pets allowed to race, religion, disability or sexuality. You can chose to have a pet or not.

JimmyVik

My parents had lovely little dog before.

Chewed the furniture to bits. He even chewed the corner off a marble fireplace.

I still find things he chewed that I hadnt seen before even now 5 years after he left us.

The back of a tv cabinet, the bottom of a bed frame and the back of a sofa for example.

Chewing was what he did.

My Dad would never have another dog in the house now. I will never have a dog either myself :)

If I was a landlord I surely wouldnt want pets in there.

Fol20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117855696#Comment_117855696

Im sorry but having pets is a life choice and its not fair to push your life choices onto a third party where they will bear all the risks. If you have your own home, well fair enough, if your pet damages it or you get noise complaints, its on you. If your renting when you know renting will be tough with pets, theres no point complaining after the fact.

Insurance companies dont offer much protect in the form of landlord protections other than the standard stuff as legislation is very anti LL. I dont see them offering this in the future as a result.

Increased deposit of 1k wont cut it im afraid. If you really wanted actually deposit protection again a pet, it should be closer to 10k or more, given a couch alone could be 1k, add on everything else they can damage, and costs can go up quickly. You might think this price is too high but given it doesnt sound like you are aware of how hard it is for a LL to claim back damages off a tenant, i would recommend reading up on this aspect first.

Why is "my house my rules" not good enough? The ll worked hard and saved up a lot of money to be able to afford the home so why can they not dictate what rules they want enforced as long as they are abiding by the law? Adding pets to race, religion etc is a bit of a stretch.. What will it be next after this..

sportsfan90

I'm not a landlord and I've never owned a property. But if I was I'd have to agree with the majority here that there's no way I'd rent out to someone with pets - why take on a potentially expensive risk when you don't need to.

I've been in houseshares and one guy moved in a dog without telling the landlord. It was a lovely little dog but he bit through furniture, laptop cables etc. And even though he was clean, he did leave a smell.

Of course his owner claimed never to be able smell anything and that the chewing was just normal wear and tear.

.42.

I’ve seen Adults and Children do way more damage to rented properties then any animal could inflict including stinking out the place.

It’s unfortunate in the eyes of the law that you cant/ shouldn’t be selective.

I was a dog owner renting. When I was moving there was no pets allowed available so I bought a property.

If I was to rent my property in the future it would be my first choice to a pet owner with no kids

Fol20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117858593#Comment_117858593

Please come back to us after you have let to a few pet owners, families and single professionals.

I have experience all and can tell you without a doubt that cats and dogs have caused the most damage.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117853653#Comment_117853653

I've never taken a cat for a walk either.

Seriously, the purpose of companion animals is to teach children empathy with living things, or to provide lonely people with company. Fish and birds can be used to accomplish both of those goals - an animal doesn't need to be walkable to have needs that humans respond to.

(There's a whole philosophical debate about the issues with anthropomorphising animals, and whether we really should be changing their fundamental nature by having them live inside as quasi-family members. But that's probably for another day.)

ghoulfinger

As I said in a similar thread I •am• a landlord who not only accepts pets but would tend to actually be inclined to favour a potential pet-owning tenant. My reasons?

• Where my heart rules my head, I am an animal lover and pet owner myself. But that’s only the start.
• My own instinct and experience has born out that many pet-owners tend to live more stable lives. To care for a pet you tend to care for yourself and the environment in which you keep your pet. People tend to •choose• to have pets, so have actively decided to provide that caring environment, which is based within the landlord’s property.
• Pets will cause wear and tear. So will chaotic people, children, etc. Pet owners tend to be particularly conscious about the damage their pets might cause, and often tend to take measures to offset this.
• Pet ownership and apartment living go hand in hand in continental European culture. So if your tenants have immigrated from this culture they are familiar with caring for pets in this setting. It is a normal part of living.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117866429#Comment_117866429

So if the pet wrecks the furniture/carpets, you accept that as an inevitable risk/consequence and happily pay to repair/replace the damage?

Damage caused by pets would not be considered “wear and tear” by most landlords, it is considered avoidable damage caused by the actions of the tenant.

It is not always the “culture” in Ireland for tenants to pay for damage caused, particularly when it exceeds the deposit.

ghoulfinger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117866469#Comment_117866469

Often a person owner is there for the longer term, eg I have my continental pet-owning tenants for 16 years. They keep the place immaculate and even repaint themselves. Cleaning is almost an obsession with them, kind of normal culture of house-pride from where they originate. Ok, a cat can cause damage by scratching. 8 years is the allowable wear and tear on eg, furniture, for Revenue purposes, at 12% per year of that duration. At the end of their tenancy, I can assess what furniture is under 8 years old and remains totally unusable, and will withhold any outstanding amount from the deposit. They are consistently timely payers, and I don’t really anticipate any problems in my particular case.

On the other hand I could think of other kinds of tenants I might have encountered, sans pets, who would incur any amount of careless damage without much of a thought for their temporary environment. I have seen how other people live and it isn’t always pretty.

Caranica

Pet ownership and apartment living may go hand in hand in Europe but as I said earlier, the majority of apartment developments here ban pets. That doesn't stop people getting them but action can be taken where management company leases specifically ban them.

ghoulfinger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117866930#Comment_117866930

Our culture needs to change if we are going to truly embrace apartment living as a lifestyle choice. Where I live, a mixed estate of apartments and houses, dogs are provided for and many units have a dog. I bought my place here because it was designed to be a place for this type of living. Every evening you see the dog owners on the estate meeting up in the parkland area between the apartment blocks which is provided with dog litter bins which are regularly emptied by the janitorial team. It encourages quite a lot of cohesion among the residents, many of whom have moved here because pet ownership is part of the norm.

Caranica

Dogs aren't allowed in my mixed development but there are plenty. In the early days the management company enforced the rules but the current agents won't.

One dog in particular is a major scourge, I don't believe dogs belong in high density living (of Irish build quality), especially when they're home alone for long periods of time. This unit is up for sale and I will toast the day they move out.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117867198#Comment_117867198

You can contact the dog warden if it's a nuisance, it's not right for a dog to be treated that way.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117866640#Comment_117866640

16 yrs is not a typical tenancy, again, would you be happy to absorb the costs of damaged furniture/carpets after a 1 yr tenancy?

ghoulfinger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117867342#Comment_117867342

Nope, would retain whatever of the deposit might cover the damage. I got my great tenants by telling my agency I was willing to accept pets. My tenants had approached the agency looking for a pet friendly landlord and only brought their pet over from kennelling once it had all been agreed. I was pretty happy from the evidence that they were going to be pretty good tenants.